


whisper what you want in my ear

by transvav



Series: anything for you [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF, X-Ray & Vav (Cartoon)
Genre: ALSO the death is sorta?? iffy, M/M, Minor Character Death, but i suffer, minor ones tho, spoilers for xav s2, welcome to hell hope you enjoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2015-10-01
Packaged: 2018-04-24 08:49:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4913023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/transvav/pseuds/transvav
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>X-Ray is gone, Vav has disappeared, and the Mad King has a new plan. As soon as Mogar goes after X-Ray, the King tracks down Vav and gives the hero a choice- join him and become much better than he ever has before, or die. And Vav isn't quite ready to see the afterlife yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	whisper what you want in my ear

**Author's Note:**

> A few things- I forgot X-Ray and Vav canonly live in X-Ray's basement, so I may have adjusted it so that they lived in an apartment together.  
> Also, please ignore my bullshit science attempt at making slow mo gloves a thing.  
> I dedicate this to my wife who suffered through my writing process and had many major mood swings because of it.  
> Enjoy!

 

The only way this could be described was  _drowning_ , Vav thought. Drowning in something akin to regret. He was an idiot, always had been- lovestruck and blinded and stupidly infatuated with Ash. And naturally, it had all gone downhill, like it always had meant to.

He scuffed at the ground with his boot as he walked back to the apartment. He hadn’t felt like taking a bus, not this late at night- and even with the Mad King and Mogar ‘loose’ in the city once more, he couldn’t bring himself to actually care. He just wanted to get home, lie down, and talk things out with X-Ray for a while. He messed up, lord, he’d messed up so badly. He shouldn’t have chosen her, he shouldn’t have said those things- this was all his fault- Ash was nothing, no one in comparison to his best friend.

Who he’d left behind.

He unlocked the front door and called out, unclasping his cape and throwing it off to the side, locking the door behind him. After a few moments of silence, his brow furrowed.

“X-Ray... I- we need to talk-”

Nothing. Vav glanced over the side of the couch, then moved down the hallway, checking the bedroom. “X-Ray, seriously, don’t-”

Something green caught his eye in the closet, and Vav felt his throat close up.  _No, no, no_ - 

God, what an idiot he was.

X-Ray’s suit was left there, and now the hero noticed the missing backpack and the various spots of clean wood where knick-knacks had been taken. When he got back to the living room, all the games were still there- but the 3DS was gone, and so was the second controller. With shaky breath, he slumped down on the couch, taking off his gloves and dropping them on the side table. He buried his face in his hands and proceeded to collapse sideways, letting it all sink in. 

“This is just all a terrible dream,” he mumbled half-heartedly. “‘S got to be. I’m gonna wake up and X-Ray’s gonna be here and there’d never be any  _choice_  and-”

He groaned when he heard the phone go off, sitting up wearily and rubbing away the redness in his eyes like he was worried someone was gonna see. He made his way over to the phone and picked it up- but he didn’t say anything. The words caught in his throat as he remembered there was no X-Ray, not now anyways, so why bother? But then the caller tentatively asked, “H-hello?” and Vav was suddenly mad at someone other than himself.

Another wave of emotion crashed over him, but this time, it wasn’t any type of sadness or loneliness or even regret. A flare of something burst in his chest and grew to an inferno of rage, sparks of betrayal fueling the flame.

“Hey, Ash,” he replied in a chipper voice that didn’t feel like his own.

“Oh, Vav!” she sighed in relief, and he held back a small huff. “I know things are bad with you and X-Ray, but I had to call to make sure-”

“I get it,” he replied, trying not to sound angry. “But I’ve gotta- do some things. Fix things.”

“I’ll call you later, then? Maybe we could meet up-”

“Probably not,” he answered, and before she could say anything else he pressed the end button forcefully and threw the phone down, pieces breaking off and bouncing to the ground. He slammed back against the door, sliding downwards, and sighed, all energy from his anger gone. It all settled in- the regret, the mistakes, every little thing he’d done.

“What did I do?” he whispered, burying his face in his hands. “Oh, god, what did I do?”

And Vav was alone.

* * *

 

Mogar had long since disappeared after catching a hint of where X-Ray was heading, and the Mad King was happy enough to see him go. The bear man was nothing if not enthusiastic to get rid of the problems that had been meddling too much in his business, but as time went on, the more civilized of the pair realized how annoying it could be working with someone who barely understood the concept of a shirt, much less any other type of modern technology- technology that the Mad King specialized in. And though Mogar’s brute force was appreciated, it sometimes got a little too much. Sarcasm was taken too literally, clever phrasings were pointless. Nothing was as fun if he didn’t have a chance to be smart. Mogar’s inability to actually  _understand_  how intelligent the Mad King was put quite the damper on his regular entertainment.

And now that he was off finding X-Ray, it was up to the elder to find the other hero, alone, which didn’t bother him at all. Vav had disappeared quickly, not too long after the little stunt the Mad King had pulled at City Hall- it’d been about a month since that had happened. And when criminals started picking up on the fact that there weren’t any heroes to stop them, crime rates had picked up, and it’d been made clear to the King that his plan had worked more than perfectly. What mattered now was that Vav was found, and Vav was properly melded into _exactly_  what the villain needed him for.

The Mad King opened the door to the apartment he’d tracked Vav to be in, glancing around at the out of place furniture and miscellaneous items that littered the shelves. The entire place was out of shape, things strewn about haphazardly and nothing seemed to really fit. So he was... out of sorts, the King mused. The TV was on playing some sitcom, the volume just barely loud enough to hear it. It looked as if he was alone, at first glance, but there was a quiet mumble from the couch and suddenly he could see the rat's nest of blond hair just barely off the edge. A smirk played on his lips as he quietly shut the door behind him, the click of it closing making Vav lift his head slightly and turn towards him. 

“Oh,” the hero mumbled, dropping his head back down. “It’s you.”

“Yes. It’s me. And you-” he paused, glancing around- “are alone, I see.”

“I’m honestly surprised you didn’t figure that out earlier, considering you caused what happened,” Vav muttered bitterly. He reached for the remote on the floor, pointing it upwards to the television and beginning to scroll through the channel guide.

“Why on earth would that surprise you?”

“Maybe because you’re a smart arsed bastard with every intention of ruining my life and stopping at nothing to do so. But then again you don’t give two shits about the people you’re planning on murdering so I suppose the more I think about it, it really doesn’t surprise me and I’m just dumb.”

The snap in Vav’s voice made the King raise a brow, but say nothing more as his gaze scanned the room one more time. It just seemed so off, and when his eyes reached the couch again he was mildly surprised to meet Vav’s tired glare. That’s when the Mad King noticed how out of place the hero really looked. He was used to a determined gaze, a sort of pep, any sort of emotion that wasn’t... tired. Because that was how he appeared. Very, very, tired.

There were bags under his eyes and his jaw was covered in stubble, his hair messier than usual. His clothing was rumpled and stained and torn in some places, old and dead and very well used. He didn’t smell bad, so at least he’d had the decency to keep himself clean, along with his clothing, even if he did wear the same pair of boxers and the same shirt every day- the most notable thing was how whatever energy Vav had once carried with him, he had seemed to lose all of it. This was not at all what the king wanted. This was wrong, all wrong.  _Fix it_ , he thought to himself.  _Fix it and get yourself a new pawn_.

“You aren’t dumb,” he said. “And I never said I was going to murder you. Before, maybe, because you were in the way. But this time around I said I was going to destroy X-Ray and Vav. And that’s been accomplished, obviously.”

The brit sagged a bit at the words, gaze flicking towards a picture on the wall. The elder’s view went in the same direction and he found himself looking at a framed selfie of the duo when they were younger, without the suits Hilda had made them, grinning at the camera. He caught himself rolling his eyes- too much sentiment, god help him, he was suffocating in the  _care_  of it all. 

“I need you alive,” he continued. “When I said you needed to unlock your true potential I meant you had to do it with  _me_.” He watched Vav carefully as he told him this, making sure the other remembered what he was talking about- when his eyes flickered back to him uncertainly, he proceeded. “You aren’t meant to be a hero. You know that. You’re quite intelligent, actually, but it’s all going to waste because you don’t know how to channel it. How to use it. But if it was treated correctly, if it was used properly, you’d be something much more powerful than you are now. And I know how to help you. I could give you so much more to work with, make you something much greater than you are now. There’s only one, simple condition, and I know you’ve guessed it. You’re going to have to join me, Vav, join  _us_.”

“I- wh-” 

The ex-hero had wide eyes, fear keeping him frozen and staring, and the Mad King smirked. “I’m not going to keep you alive if you choose otherwise. There’s a chance you’ll get in my way if you aren’t going to cooperate with me. And there you have it. Work with me, or die alone. It’s fair and simple. And  _just_  because I’m feeling fairly generous- because I do so hope you’ll be working with us- I’ll give you time. A week. A week to think the offer over. If you get out of town, there is always a way to find you, just remember that.”

On his way out the door, the Mad King turned again, just to take that one final glance at his new little ‘project.’ Vav’s eyes were back on the picture, his bottom lip caught in his teeth as he nervously chewed on it, already contemplating. It wouldn’t take long before he’d reach the conclusion to join him. Even if he was or ever had been a hero, his morals were already off kilter, and everyone was cowardly enough to do anything to keep themselves alive. But pushing him to be a little quicker with his decision wouldn’t hurt. A choice few words could get things moving even faster. The Mad King decided to revisit the time this had all kicked off, just to add salt to the wounds that this time  _he_  was in control of the situation.

“Tick tock, Vav,” he hummed. He felt the younger man’s eyes instantly flicking towards him as he walked out of the apartment and the door slammed behind him.

 

  
Two days later and they were both standing together in Monarch Labs once more. 

Vav had approached nervously in civilian clothing, all confidence gone and everything in his stance showing how defensive he was in case the Mad King was lying about it all- but the elder had invited him in with a coy smile, taking his shoulder in a tight grip and leading him further into the building. 

They ended up in an office, of sorts, with a desk and a couple of armchairs, along with a few bookshelves and a large television on the wall. The King released his hold on Vav, gesturing to one of the chairs, and turned to enter a code into the lock behind them. Vav sat, twiddling his fingers, eyes cast downwards towards the ground. Once the door was properly locked, the elder took off his crown and placed it on the desk near a few of his smaller experiments. There was a steady silence for a while between the two of them before the villain cleared his throat and gained the attention of the younger man before him.

“Something simple to start off, perhaps. Names. Real names. Although I would  _love_  to hear you call me Mad King at every given opportunity, I will admit it’s a bit of a mouthful. So- you first.”

“Ah- Gavin. M’names Gavin.”

“Gavin. It suits you. I’m Ryan.”

Another silence settled between them and Gavin’s gaze slid to the floor once more as he began to kick his feet lightly. Ryan watched his movements carefully, studying him, before finally asking, “Why did you quit being a hero, Gavin?”

Gavin’s head shot up suddenly, something glinting in his eyes, but they faded back to a glazed sadness. “I can’t do it alone. I can’t reach long ranges, and I’m more defense than offense- X-Ray had the power to take them down. I just... slowed them down. I’m basically nothing.”

Ryan smirked. “Well, you aren’t nothing. It was your fault he left, so you were something enough to get rid of him, weren’t you.”

“I can’t believe you. You ruined  _everything_ , you destroyed whatever we had because you made me choose, and I was an idiot, of course this is my fault- but it’s  _your fault first_! I wouldn’t have even considered leaving him and you wormed your way in and you explained little lies and you made me think they were true and I was so  _dumb_  and  _desperate_  that I believed it all! Every little thing you told me just ruined it, and then I chose Ash, which was even worse because in my pit of despair I realized I didn’t even like her, I don’t even like  _girls,_  and it’s because of me and because of you that everything just...” 

Gavin slumped backwards, his tirade ended and his energy drained. He closed his eyes with a sigh. “Fell apart. And now I’m  _here_ , doing  _this_ , I wasn’t even a threat to you then, how could I be a threat to you now, jesus christ I’m so stupid.”

Ryan waited patiently for him to finish before crossing one leg over the other and leaning back with a small, all knowing smile. “Well, I’ll admit. I did use my lies, and you fell for them. And I did make you choose, but  _you_  made that choice- and you very well know now that you were in the wrong. But I did come to you in a time of weakness to make my offer- you’d been stewing in self-hatred so long that you were much more easily susceptible to my way with words, much more so this time. I gave you an ultimatum and some part of you actually believed you were going to be killed- and so you came to me, and here we are. But there is always some amount of truth in my words, and I meant what I said. There is some very strong potential in you, if one could find the correct buttons to push, and I do mean to help you unlock that potential. I  _like_  you, Gavin. You are a tad asinine, and can be  _incredibly_  annoying, but in the long run I do think I can learn to enjoy your presence.”

He gave a nod when Gavin looked at him, unimpressed. The younger man shook his head slowly, his expression turning to disbelief. “You still lied to me.”

“And I can’t promise that I won’t keep lying to you- old habits,” he chuckled at Gavin’s indignant look, “But I can try to be honest with you if you’re honest with me. Deal?”

“Deal,” Gavin said after a slight hesitation. The trust wasn’t there quite yet- perhaps there wouldn’t be  _any_  trust between them, if Gavin kept up his stubbornness. There was nothing wrong with that, except for it could prove annoying in the near future, but Ryan would eventually get what he wanted. He always did.  
  


There was something destructive in Gavin that Ryan absolutely adored- a spark that the villain knew he could make into an inferno that would take the city and leave it in ruins. But it had to start with taming and molding Gavin into something much more easily pliant. 

He started by attempting to train Gavin to fight. Close combat would never be a strong suit, he could tell, and besides, he’d have Mogar for that once the bear man returned. But it wouldn’t hurt to have the brit be able to protect himself beyond the powers he would learn to control. 

“We’re just doing simple training. Basic self-defense.”

“I know basic-”

“I really don’t think you do, actually.”

Quickly, he grabbed Gavin by the back of the shirt and pulled him close, keeping one arm tightly wrapped around his neck and the other holding said arm in place. Gavin squeaked, gasping for breath, his arms coming up to pull at Ryan’s grip, struggling slightly against the other before being dropped to the ground. He coughed violently while Ryan watched, unimpressed. “Exactly.”

Most of the rest of the first lesson went exactly like that- anything Ryan told Gavin seemed to completely escape him the second he was put into the actual situation where it would have applied. At the end of their time together, Gavin was covered in various bruises- around his neck, on his arms, and probably around his ribs as well. Ryan walked out of the room in a state of exasperation, knowing it’d be so worth it if he actually managed to get Gavin ready for a fight.

But when it came to honing in Gavin’s skills with powers, it turned out to be much easier. Gavin was intrigued by the way the technology in the lab worked, asking questions that ranged from sensible to...  _creative_ , was a word to describe some of them. Ryan wasn’t entirely sure what compelled him to answer every single one, but it made the conversation flow as he watched Gavin work carefully on a new set of gloves. A few weeks after being together in the labs, he’d taught him the basics of how the original gloves had worked- where the slow motion had come from.

“It’s actually not time that you were controlling,” he’d explained, with Gavin watching intently as he very slowly picked apart the glove’s careful work. “It was various particles in the air- it’s a difficult science to explain-”

“Even for you?”

“Even for me,” and Gavin laughed a little. “But you were slowing down the particles in the air by actually cooling them down- small bursts of cooled carbon dioxide gas mixed with normal oxygen. It would make the atoms surrounding your assailants slow down to the point of almost being frozen. Almost being the key word, and it gave off the effect-”

“That they were in slow motion,” Gavin finished, and Ryan looked up from his work to see that spark in Gavin’s eyes that he always wanted to see. The younger looked thoughtful, gears almost visibly turning in his head as he bit and chewed at his bottom lip. “How did the trigger system work for it, though? Sometimes it went off, sometimes it didn’t. Like the time I tried to blast you and ended up blasting myself in the face.”

Ryan chuckled at the memory. “Yes, that was rather unfortunate on your part. The mechanism was a bit faulty- Hilda’s work was a bit rushed, with her trying to keep it a secret from me but still trying to get it to you as quickly as possible.”

Gavin stiffened at the mention of Hilda but shook it off quickly, his eyes darting around the various parts on the table that were from his gloves. Ryan watched him carefully, but took him by the wrist when he went to pick something up- giving him a grim smile and pushing him towards a chair. “We can figure that out in a minute. I know you still hold resentment towards me for everything that happened.”

“ _Of course I do_!” the younger man shouted- the king nearly jumped from the sudden outburst. “I’m never just gonna forget that,” Gavin muttered, much calmer now. “You ruined my  _life_  and you keep acting like this is going to fix all of it.”

“I never said that. Never once have I told you I was fixing your life, never once have I said I was going to make it good again. I’m not a therapist and I’m not a life counselor. I’m not making your life better, I’m making you better. I’m making you stronger and I’m making you more efficient.” 

He huffed and stood, clearly done for the day, and as he began to head towards the doors, he heard a soft, “So you can use me.”

He turned, and Gavin was looking directly at the dismantled gloves, an unreadable emotion in his face. “Like you’re using Mogar,” he continued, and briefly Ryan spared a thought towards Mogar- it’d been almost two months now, he should have  _found_  the other hero by this point. But it was a quick thought and he brought his attention back to Gavin, who was looking up at him with- what was that? Anger? Sadness? For the first time, Ryan honestly couldn’t tell. He opened his mouth to say something, but Gavin just held a hand up and stood. 

“Whatever. I get it, it’s fine. I’m nothing but you’re making me something. Making me a weapon. Good enough, right?” 

He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned the other way, towards the doors where his room was. Neither of them said a word as he left, and Ryan stood there the whole time, blinking in curiousity. Something was resonating in his chest that he couldn’t quite place. It was a warmth and it was unsettling- an urge to comfort him and apologize and tell the ex-hero that he hadn’t meant it.  _Sentiment_ , he shuddered, and shoved the feeling back down, ignoring it and turning to go to his own room.

The next day, and the next weeks, continued as if nothing had been said and nothing had been done- although if Gavin’s punches in his physical training had more force behind them than before, both of them pretended to ignore it. Ryan also pretended to ignore what he had decided was the  _hurt_  in his chest every time Gavin refused to speak to him or acknowledge his attempts at making it up to him. Because as more time began to pass, Ryan did eventually realize what was making him feel that way, and when he recognized it he knew he’d never be able to use Gavin as anything. Gavin was too smart for a lot of things- his mental stubbornness had once again been set, there would be no mind games to let Ryan know anything. 

And it was getting to the point where Ryan didn’t  _want_  to use Gavin. If he was going to rule this city- and perhaps more- it was with Gavin. Not ‘with’ him, like he’d been planning to rule ‘with’ Mogar. No, truly and actually  _with_  him, side by side, with the same power. 

He was, of course, getting ahead of himself, as well as creating too much sentiment towards the young man who undoubtedly hated him, much less trusted and found him anywhere near likeable. So he continued to shove it down and work Gavin closer to being, like he’d explained, more powerful and more controlled. 

 

“Where is Mogar?” Gavin asked 4 months in, and Ryan paused his work and gave him a questioning glance. “What? Just asking. He was working for you when I last saw him, and that was back...”

He fell silent and Ryan knew what he was thinking of- so he quickly answered, “He went to- ah, find X-Ray. After he left. But he hasn’t come back yet, which is unsettling.”

“Are you worried?” Gavin teased, and Ryan spluttered indignantly, picking back up the small welding torch and continuing. 

“I’m not worried about a bear man. If he runs into trouble he can most definitely handle himself.”

“What if he runs into his  _mum_?” Gavin snorted, fixing two of the parts on the table together, as per the instructions he’d been taught not long ago. But Ryan dropped his, sparks fizzing everywhere, and Gavin jumped a little at the sudden reaction. “What, what did I say?”

“‘ _What if he runs into his mom_?’” Ryan whispered, a flicker of shock on his face before it smoothed into something much more dangerous and sinister. “I hadn’t even considered the possibility.”

“But his mom was taken, I thought?” 

“There’s always that chance that he’ll find her. Or find the person that took her before I do,” he muttered, and Gavin raised an eyebrow, which Ryan matched. “I told you, I don’t know everything. I make things up from time to time to get what I want. But if he found her-”

“He won’t need your help anymore,” Gavin finished, placing his pieces back down. “And you won’t have him at your feet.”

There was a moment of silence before Ryan stood and turned towards the door, already reaching outwards for his crown, but Gavin grabbed his wrist and pulled slightly. It was enough to make Ryan pause and look back. 

“First of all, you don’t know where he went. You could easily spend another five months looking for him, and there’s that chance that you’ll never find him. All that time off could  _ruin_ you, and your position at your company. Not to mention that if you do find him, and he’s with his mum, there’s nothing you can offer him to get his help back. You ‘destroyed’ his main problem, his ‘mission’ is completed, he has no reason to be here anymore. And you have plenty enough reason to stay.”

Ryan thought about it, but ultimately, Gavin was right. He’d gotten basically all he’d needed from Mogar. A little extra protection would have been an added bonus, but it was more of a want than a necessity. He nodded, pulling his wrist back and turning to the table. “When did you become a voice of reason? My voice of reason, no less?” 

Gavin shrugged, stretching his arms above his head with a smile. “Just made sense, I s’pose.”

Ryan nodded and sat back down, still thinking over the predicament. Gavin gave him a careful look but sat down anyways, picking up his parts and fiddling with them some more. The elder left his project untouched, however, as he sat and contemplated the current situation. He tapped his fingers against the desk lightly, trying his best to calm himself down and rationalize his mind. Gavin had in fact helped with that, but there was another problem that he knew he couldn’t bring up. What if- and this was an intense reach, but all options had to be accounted for- what if he’d found X-Ray, but X-Ray had managed to convince him to help?

He shook his head and nearly laughed at himself- out of all the things he’d come up with, that was probably the most far-fetched and unreasonable. Mogar was simply taking his time- and perhaps he had found his mother, or perhaps he’d just simply decided to just leave. None of it truly mattered. Mogar had been a strong asset at the time, but that’s all he had been. A temporary asset for as long as Ryan had held the knowledge of his mother’s whereabouts over him. So if he was gone, fine. Not the biggest loss. Not anymore.  


 

“You’re getting much better at this,” he said as Gavin threw one of the lackeys to the floor, panting heavily. It was true- it had taken half a year, but Gavin was finally up to the level of physical combat that Ryan needed him to be at.The younger man flashed a grin up at Ryan at the praise, quickly wiping the blood from his nose with his arm. He stood straighter, stretching his arms out, and flinched slightly when he heard a crack. 

“Ow,” he muttered, and Ryan chuckled. 

“You’ve been fighting people pretty much all day, but you crack your back and that’s what merits you saying ‘ow?’”

Gavin stuck his tongue out, dropping his arms and letting them swing at his sides. “For the record, it was my elbow. And that’s painful.”

“I’m sure,” Ryan said in response as he tugged off his suit jacket and undid some of the extras on his belt. Gavin watched with interest as Ryan rolled his shirt sleeves up and unbuttoned a few buttons down from his collar. He then proceeded to take off his shoes and socks, and that’s when Gavin finally realized what was going on. The younger paled slightly, beginning to nervously shift his weight.

“I-I don’t think- bloody hell, are we actually doing this?”

“Yes,” he replied, and quickly turned to throw a punch.

Gavin blocked easily with his closest arm and returned another punch. The two shared equal amounts of hits and blocks for a minute or two- a few landing on Ryan, a few landing on Gavin, when either of them were too slow. Ryan broke away slightly and managed to catch one of Gavin’s fists, manhandling him back into the chokehold like the first time they’d stood in this room. There was a brief struggle as Gavin pushed against Ryan’s arm, but suddenly there was a sharp pain in his face and Ryan could feel the blood on his face. He yelped as his legs were swept from under him and he was on the floor, a heavy weight on top of him, and Gavin was sitting on his chest very smugly.

“I told you you were getting better,” Ryan huffed.

Gavin laughed, moving to stand up. He yelped, though, as he was quickly pulled downwards again and thrown to the floor next to his assailant, and ended up in the reverse position of what had just occurred. “You’re not  _quite_  there yet, though,” Ryan murmured, and Gavin’s face flushed bright red in what he at first thought was just indignation. But when Gavin didn’t protest, didn’t make a sound, that’s when Ryan realized.

A wave of emotion flooded him and all the things he’d been struggling to keep down crashed over him- the warmth in his chest, the clarity of the situation, the overwhelming desire and affection he felt for this man and oh, they were kissing, when did this happen? When did  _any_  of this happen- when did Gavin of all people manage to worm his way into a heart Ryan wasn’t even sure he’d had? And didn’t Gavin  _hate_  him? For a moment, it seemed that way, the brit frozen beneath him for a fraction of a second.

But the moment passed and the way Gavin was kissing him back, like his life depended on it, and it was apparent that no, Gavin did not hate him. After a few heated moments Ryan pulled away to rest his forehead on Gavin’s as they both caught their breath. His mouth quirked up into a fond smirk as Gavin licked his lips. Ryan leaned down even further to his ear, biting lightly at the lobe and revelling in the shiver that went through the young man beneath him.

“What on  _earth_  have you done to me?” he murmured, and Gavin laughed quietly beneath him.

“I should be asking you that,” was the reply. Ryan pulled down from his ear toward his neck, Gavin shuddering and grinding upwards. “You’ve utterly ruined me, Ryan, through and through.”

“Oh, no,” Ryan grinned against his neck. “I haven’t ruined you quite yet.”

“Well then hurry up, my  _liege_ ,” Gavin purred, and Ryan practically growled. 

“Anything for you.”

And later, when they had ended up in the same bed, Gavin’s arm draped carelessly over his chest while he played with the brit’s messy hair, he realized he had meant it. He’d do anything for Gavin, and when he once had considered that a weakness, he couldn’t bring himself to think of it like that anymore.  _Sentiment_ , he thought to himself, and laughed softly as he fell asleep.

* * *

 

At the outskirts of the city, two men met a third in the cover of night. The taller of the two outsiders didn’t say a word- just stood there like a bodyguard as the other shook the hand of their ‘visitor.’

“Thanks for coming, man,” was the quiet greeting.

“Yeah, no problem. Glad to see you’re doing alright.”

“Alright is a... loose term. I’m better, I guess. We’ll go with that. What’ve you got?”

“Come on in, I’ll explain what I can. But not here.”

He led them further into the city, through alleyways like mazes, until they entered an apartment hidden from public eye. A fourth met them there, wary and waiting. 

“Oh, thank god-  _what is he doing here?_ ”

“It’s cool. He’s with us now.” A pause, and then- “Wait, where’s-”

“That’s part of what I’m explaining,” their host spoke. “When you disappeared, so did he. Dropped all forms of communication, ditched his tracker and his radio, left his living space completely. It was like he had never existed.  _Neither_  of us could find him- not even Flynt Coal could help.”

“And the Mad King?”

“Larger than life itself, once you were gone. Obviously his little ‘retrival’ mission failed, considering who you  _brought_ ,” she hissed- the taller stranger managed to look sheepish.

“He doesn’t have complete control over the city quite yet, but we don’t know when he’s planning to strike.”

“We need to stop him, and quickly. I don’t want to take the risk. And we need to find-”

“We did find him.”

There was a heavy silence as the they all turned to their host, who let out a heavy sigh. “I found him. Not too long ago. I didn’t wanna say anything about it- I hacked some security footage and it looked a hell of a lot like him, but I wasn’t sure. I can never be too sure. So one of the guys who owes me went in to check. He came out battered and bruised and beaten to all hell. And when I asked him if they’d known he was a spy, he told me no- they were deliberately taking the new hires and using them for training.”

“Training  _what_?” the youngest of them asked- he was given a sad look and a shake of the head. “ _No_. No way!”

“It was him. No denying it.”

“But- he didn’t know how to fight! Neither of us did! And even still, we can get him back. He’s stronger and stuff! Right? What’s stopping us from just going to him?”

“I...”

The silence made him think something was wrong- the eldest’s face confirmed it. “What? What is it, what’s wrong?”

“He... we found him in Monarch Labs. He’s with the Mad King.”

“Brainwashing.”

The quick response had all of them staring at him, but he was steady under their gazes. “It has to be. There is  _no way_  he’d do that, not on his own free will.”

Nothing was said for a while, no one wanting to protest this point, but no one really wanting to accept that brainwashing was the answer. Anything was a possibility, though.

“So we’re getting him back. We’re breaking in, we’re kicking the royal asshole in his royal _ass_ , and we’re getting my friend- we’re getting Gavin- the fuck outta there,” Ray finished, Mogar nodding once in approval.

Hilda and Rusty glanced at each other before giving shrugs and turning back. “What’s the plan?”

* * *

 

“You made my gloves... shoot  _fire_.”

Gavin was looking at the improved accesories in a state of disbelieving awe, turning them over and inspecting them closely as his face broke into a smile. Ryan watched with a fondness as Gavin pulled them on, wiggling his fingers to get them adjusted on his hands. He glanced back towards Ryan with mischief and childish glee shining in his eyes. “How do they work?”

“They’re sort of like portable bunsen burners. The propane is in sort of- pockets in your gloves, and there’s a flint and steel in the actual palm of the glove that both releases some of the gas and sets it aflame, but only when you push your thumb inwards first- it acts as the sort of on and off valve for the propane itself. Then the mechanism goes off and ignites the gas. The actual fist of the glove is conductive to the flame, and it’ll basically set your whole hand on fire but it won’t hurt you, I made  _sure_  of that.”

“You tested it on lackeys, didn’t you?” Gavin teased, and Ryan shrugged. 

“Perhaps.”

“Alright, then how do I turn them off? And can I control how strong the fire actually is, like, how much it’ll burn someone?”

“Same way to turn it on- flicking your thumb inwards. It closes off the ‘valve.’ And yes, you can control it, like a normal bunsen burner. The looser your fist is, the more air is let in, the stronger the flame can become. An open palm is incredibly more burn-inducing than a closed fist. Could probably disintegrate someone if you tried...”

That last part was more of an afterthought meant for Ryan’s ears alone, because part of him was unsure how Gavin was going to react to actually killing someone. In this line of business, it was bound to happen eventually. Ryan had many enemies, and the ones who were most threatening would most certainly need to be taken out. The job would have been Mogar’s if the damned animal hadn’t disappeared. And now Gavin was part of his defence. If he was honest with himself, though, Ryan knew that if anything was going to happen, he’d protect Gavin as much as Gavin would protect him.  _Anything for you_ , his words echoed, and he couldn’t help but smile and glance over to his partner.

Who was in  _utter_  delight as he clenched his fists, watching gleefully as the flames curled around his hands like snakes. He opened his palm and the flames nearly disappeared, the only sign of it remaining the slight blue glow around the edges, and quickly flicked his thumb to the middle of his palm. A satisfying click was heard and the glow disappeared and Gavin looked like he was about to squeal in pleasure.

“I’ll have to change your outfit to better accommodate for propane reserves,” Ryan muttered, and Gavin’s attention flickered over to him, his grin impossibly brightening. “If you don’t mind?”

“No, no! It’s fine!” Gavin reassured, gently taking the gloves off and dropping himself into Ryan’s lap, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “It’s  _perfect_.”

Ryan wrapped his arms around Gavin, tracing patterns up and down his back while the younger man rested his head on the elder’s chest. “I didn’t know how this would work out, at first,” Gavin murmured, and Ryan shifted his attention downwards towards him. “I was so upset with myself and my decisions that I didn’t want to do anything. And I wanted to blame you for everything but I knew deep down that it was my fault. And when you gave me that offer I knew it was trouble because all I wanted was to be the good guy, ever since I was little, ever since X-Ray and I were friends. But I was the kid who had detention all the time, the kid who picked fights because fights picked me. They made fun of the both of us and I was the one who got in trouble for punching them. I was the anger issues child, if that makes sense. And that’s why I tried so hard. And when you came to me, I was so hesitant to accept because I wouldn’t be able to control myself. I didn’t want to be the bad guy.”

“But?”

“But you were right. Like you always are,” he laughed, brushing his hand upwards towards Ryan’s cheek- Ryan leaned into his touch with a soft smile, placing his hand over Gavin’s. “I’m... happier with you. Happier doing  _this_. I know there are still some things I haven’t really breached yet, but I guess it’ll take time to really figure things out, right?”

“Exactly,” Ryan laughed, pressing a kiss to Gavin’s palm. “And I’ll help you through it. But we don’t need to worry about that right now. We have a meeting to go to.”

“Christ,” Gavin moaned, sliding out of his lap. “Can we not?”

“I am still the CEO, unfortunately, so I do need to keep my company running. And I’d rather have you along for this one. It’s sort of an out of town meeting and I don’t trust any one of those bastards.”

“Fair enough, but I still don’t want to go. I’ll do it. But I don’t want to.”

“You’re worrying for nothing,” Ryan promised, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “We will be fine.”

 

  
The meeting droned on for quite a while, Ryan with disinterest in his eyes and Gavin standing close next to him, shifting his weight occasionally in his boredom. He’d donned a hood at Ryan’s request, along with a scarf to cover the bottom half of his face- the visitors had stared for a while until Ryan had made a vaguely threatening comment about their ‘approval’ being unnecessary. They’d all quickly averted their attention, and everything had continued. Older men were squabbling about and various villains from other cities had been invited- as they arrived, Ryan carefully pointed them out to Gavin.

“Those two are Percival and Conrad. They work in an assassin’s league not too far off from here. Interesting couple. The amount of times Percival has threatened to kill Conrad is innumerable but so far nothing’s happened.”

“That’s Gworb. Don’t- don’t ask me what his name is. I don’t understand it either.”

“And Shadlez. Clever bastard but I don’t believe he’s the enemy. Oh, yes, a few of them are my enemies. They’re trying to get back at me for reasons I’d rather not announce in front of the company.”

“Risemonger. Don’t give him that look, don’t make eye contact, just... don’t. I’d rather not deal with him today. Or ever again. I’m working on it, though. I’m working on it.”

“That... should be it,” he muttered.

“So, Mad King,” Risemonger started, and Ryan had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. “We’ve heard tell of a new plan to take the city, perhaps? Would you like to share?”

“No, actually. But would you like to share why you’ve actually shown up? I don’t recall inviting you.”

“You never invite me, but hey, I need to keep my checks on you every once in awhile. Who’s your new friend?” he asked, gaze flicking over to Gavin, who glared back, stance stiffening ever so slightly in defense.

“That is none of your concern,” Ryan replied, a dark glare coming over his face- but before Risemonger could say another word, a different voice made itself known.

“I’d believe it’s all of my concern, my dear king,” and all attention darted to the edge of the table, where a final villain was sitting, bow in hand and a sickly sweet smile on his face. 

“Mark Nutt. How kind of you to finally arrive.” Ryan saw Gavin’s eyes squint up slightly, like he was trying to hold in a laugh, and he couldn’t blame him. The ridiculous named suited the equally ridiculous villain, but Ryan knew how deadly the man could be with the bow in his hands. 

“‘Finally?’ Were you expecting me, Mad? How sweet,” Nutt hummed, seemingly pleased with himself. “It’s not going to be a pleasant visit, though.”

“No?” Ryan questioned, leaning back in his chair. “And why not?”

“Because quite frankly, your highness, I’m sick of you. I’m sick of the power you think you hold over this city when obviously you’ve done  _nothing_  to it besides somehow rid it of the heroes. Goody goody for you, it’s just more chaotic. Some of us do actually want something the happen with this place- and if you’re not going to step up, well.”

His devious smile turned into something much darker and Ryan reeled backwards as he realized, perhaps a bit too late, that Nutt had been very slowly drawing his bow from the moment he’d begun talking and the arrow was already notched-

“Someone has t-”

_Where was Gavin_ , Ryan distantly wondered, but the answer was right in front of him.

Mark Nutt was smoking, he realized, and there was a figure behind him which didn’t become clear until the man’s skin began to glow bright red. His shirt burned, and his stomach was shown not quite burning, but literally disintegrating, the glow becoming ash and the ashes spreading outwards until there was nothing left but a half-burnt bow and a few pieces of melted plastic.

And Gavin was left there, gloves still aflame, a dangerous look in his eyes, and oh, that was unexpected. The members of the meeting were left in a fearful awe, and Ryan wanted nothing more than to praise his partner. But when he met Gavin’s eyes the dangerous glint was gone, replaced by realization and fear. 

“You all need to leave,” Ryan instantly snapped, standing on his feet, and everyone shifted uncomfortably, gaze flicking to him.

“But-” 

_“Leave!_ ” he hissed dangerously and the room was cleared in seconds flat. Gavin’s gloves clicked off and he dropped his arms, his breath quickening as he struggled to pull the scarf and hood away from his face. Ryan rushed over and caught him as he fell forwards, pulling him close to his chest.

“What did I do?” came the soft, muffled cry, and Ryan realized with a terrible sinking feeling that Gavin, clever and dangerous and destructive as he was, hadn’t quite grasped the concept of murder. This was going to tear him apart. He tightened his arms around Gavin and reached up to pet his hair softly, rocking the both of them ever so gently. The younger man was shaking in his hold, over and over again crying _what did I do, what did I do, what did I do_  and Ryan couldn’t figure out what to say.

“I’m so sorry,” he settled on. “I’m so, so sorry you had to do that.”

Gavin fell quiet in his arms and he pulled away slightly to see the brit looking up at him with sincerity in his eyes. “I...” he paused, before inhaling slowly and shaking his head. “I did it for you. I had to. Anything for you.”

Ryan gave a heavy sigh as those words came back around to him, shaking with soft laughter he didn’t really understand, and Gavin went back to bury his face in Ryan’s chest, still shaking, because even if it was for Ryan, he still wasn’t quite up to terms with the fact he’d actually  _killed_  someone.

And later that week, when Gavin retreated to his room and claimed he needed time to calm down, Ryan received a phone call from one of his informants to turn on to the city news. He did so and immediately felt a shuddering wave anger run through him- the familiarity of the green suit on screen made him want to scream. X-Ray was back now, of all times, and there was his former bodyguard as well, Mogar standing at X-Ray’s side with a look of fierce determination. 

_“X-Ray, do you know what happened to Vav? Is he really-”_

_“Dead? No, Vav isn’t dead. I know where he is, and I’m going to get him back.”_

He glared into the camera like he knew and Ryan punched the power button the remote, sitting back in his chair. At this point he knew Gavin wasn’t going back to X-Ray. Not after this. If he did, how could he even go back to being a hero without the guilt settling in on him and the knowledge that it wasn’t what he was meant to do? Ryan quirked his lips upwards in a smirk.

“Oh, X-Ray, you poor fool,” he said to himself. “You aren’t getting him back, not this time- he’s mine now, and even worse, I’m his. Which means I’m going to do everything in my power to prove that he and I are a better team than you two  _ever_  were.”

* * *

 

He’d been absentmindedly flipping through channels when a flash of familiar green had appeared- Gavin instantly gone back before nearly throwing up. Ray was back like he’d known what Gavin had done. The glare, the insistence, Mogar’s aura of anger. _They know,_  he thought to himself, pulling a blanket around himself even tighter.  _They know, they have to know._

“Gavin?” came Ryan’s tentative voice. “Can I come in?”

“Sure,” he murmured, muting the TV, and watched as the door opened slightly and Ryan peeked in.

“Ah,” the elder said when he saw the channel. “So you know.”

Gavin didn’t say anything this time, just curled up into himself. He leaned against the other when Ryan sat down, pulling him closer, and doing his best to calm him down. It was nice, for a while- Ryan’s warmth and soft touch in his hair, and sometimes the two of them being enemies seemed more like a distant dream when really it had only been a year ago. 

“What are they gonna do to me?” he quietly asked, and he felt Ryan tense up slightly before a hand took his chin and brought him up for a soft kiss. 

“Nothing,” Ryan promised him. “They can’t do anything to you.”

“They know, Ryan, they have to know. They’ve come to tell me off and lock me away and take you.”

“No, Gavin, they don’t know,” he heard, and he buried his face into Ryan’s chest. “I know it’s hard. I know you’ve been trying to comprehend it, but Gavin, it takes a while to comprehend and then- this isn’t what you want to hear- it gets easier. It gets easier to kill and it gets easier to get over it because their lives aren’t your problem. And you did so well, and I’m surprised how easily it came to you. I’m very proud of you, even if you aren’t proud of yourself. And you’ll manage it. You’ll learn, okay?”

The words weren’t exactly what he was expecting- something along those lines, perhaps, but the kindness in Ryan’s voice was sincere. Gavin found himself remembering when they’d first met, how Ryan acted then and how he was acting now. It was like a lightswitch, the differences between his Ryan, and the Mad King- but it wasn’t unappreciated and Gavin found himself comforted by it. “I... yeah,” he finally murmured. “Okay. Thanks, Ry.”

“Take all the time you need to be okay. I’ll be here.”

Smiling, he took the remote from the side and unmuted the channel, both of them looking up to the TV to where a reporter was once again talking to X-Ray. 

_“So what are you going to do about the threats that plague the city now?”_

_“We’re starting at the top of the chain. Take out the king, take back the kingdom- literally. I’m challenging the Mad King to meet us at city hall, tomorrow. Y’hear that, you asshole! FIGHT ME.”_

Gavin felt Ryan chuckle against him and he glanced up. “Should I accept?” Ryan asked, and Gavin’s attention went back to the screen. Something set off in the back of his mind and he smirked.

“Absolutely.”

 

City Hall was almost haunting when it was empty- the mayor had nervously fled when he’d seen the Mad King without sparing a second glance at the man following behind. The two waited for a while, the King’s crown shining brightly on his head, and finally the door burst open, two figures silhouetted against the sunlight.

Then the door shut and X-Ray jumped slightly, shaking his head at the sudden noise. “Jesus christ that’s loud.”

“So here we are, X-Ray. Mogar.”

“Where’s Vav, you maniac?”

“Straight to the point, hm? What makes you think I have Vav?”

“Because we saw him here!”

“And what makes you want him back? Didn’t he betray you? Choose some girl over you, say everything you feared? Why would you need him?”

“Because despite everything he’s my best friend! It took me a while to realize that it wasn’t  _me_ , it was him- and he would have apologized, I know he would have. We’re a team.”

“We  _were_  a team,” came the accented voice from behind him, and both X-Ray and Mogar visibly stiffened as the other man stepped forward next to the Mad King, pulling away the scarf and hood.

“Vav!” X-Ray cheered. “You’re okay!”

“X-Ray,  _Vav_  isn’t here. Not anymore,” there was a harshness to it and X-Ray’s relieved smile dropped into confusion before he steeled himself and turned back to the Mad King.

“What did you do to him?”

“I haven’t done anything to him but help him through a few tough times. Pushed him in the right direction.”

“The ‘right direction?’ The  _right direction_  isn’t being a villain and Vav knew that!”

“No, no, he’s right this time, X-Ray. He’s actually right quite a lot of the time,” Gavin lit his gloves with a fire that danced along his palms. “You and I both know I wasn’t the good kid. And I tried to be a good guy, I really did. But that just...  _isn’t_  me.”

“Vav...”

X-Ray looked and sounded so discouraged, but Gavin only shook his head and laughed. “I told you. I’m not Vav.”

“Then who?” Mogar gruffly asked, and the brit shrugged, giving a glance towards the Mad King.

“I personally thought Cinder would be a good change. Your opinion, love?”

X-Ray’s jaw dropped as the Mad King gave a wide and dangerous grin. “I think it very much suits you, Cinder my dear.”

“Aw,” the newly named villain cooed. “You’re my favorite. I love you!”

“And I you. But we do have guests to take care of,” the king reminded him. 

“Of course,” was the reply, and the flames in his hands grew much larger before he threw them forward, giggling maniacally. Mogar threw his sword in front of X-Ray to block it before dashing forwards towards Gavin, the two of them instantly clashing in a fight. X-Ray began blasting lasers at the Mad King, which he swiftly dodged, and the two of them began their own little fight as well.

“I don’t know what you’re using to brainwash him,” X-Ray hissed as he dodged one of Ryan’s fists, “but you need to  _knock_  it off.”

“I haven’t  _brainwashed_  him, X-Ray. He’s doing this on his own accord. He chose me over you. Get over it.”

“He wouldn’t.”

“But he did, because I treat him better. I helped him get where he is. And you and I both know he needed to be here.”

Both of them paused as the ground shook- Mogar had once more smashed his sword down to split the ground but Gavin only grinned and thrust his hands outwards, fire pouring into the crack and instantly travelling back through it towards Mogar, who growled as he was blinded by the sudden inferno. Gavin turned towards the other two and X-Ray only then realized how the Mad King had backed away. 

“Wait- no- Gavin,  _please_ -”

There was no hesitation as the fire was thrown towards him, hitting him in his chest and he felt the burn before he saw it. Mogar roared in anger, instantly ignoring the two villains that he was supposed to be focused on and going straight for the fallen hero. He inspected the damage and huffed, gently picking him up and going towards the door.

“But...”

“No. We’re leaving,” Mogar glared at the Mad King and Cinder, who watched impassively as he turned back away. “You’re hurt and it’s not worth it. We’ll go somewhere else.”

He sprinted out the door and Gavin made to follow, but Ryan waved him down and smiled as his partner looked at him, confused. “They won’t come back,” the elder said. “Not after that.”

Gavin pulled his scarf back up and the two of them went outside, where a crowd of citizens had gathered, watching Mogar and X-Ray flee back to the forest. The crowd turned to them, fear and confusion spread across their faces, and Ryan looked down at them dangerously while Gavin stepped forwards, smiling wickedly beneath his cover.

“I believe the proper way to address your king is by kneeling.”

**Author's Note:**

> pls no hurt me  
> comments are appreciated  
> also find me at pinkieplier.tumblr.com!


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